Panama Papers whistleblower cites Pacific isles, NZ, for good reasons

Written By: - Date published: 6:37 pm, May 8th, 2016 - 23 comments
Categories: john key, tax - Tags: , , , , , , , , , , ,

Jürgen Mossack (photo: Jandrade97/Creative Commons)Panama Papers whistleblower “John Doe” in his “manifesto” published Friday  drew attention to Pacific island tax havens for the same good reason he singled out New Zealand Prime Minister, John Key, as the only national leader to be named.

Doe noted Panama law firm Mossack Fonseca, whose 11.5 million files revealed a tsunami of tax dodging around the globe, “used its influence to write and bend laws worldwide to favour the interests of criminals over a period of decades.”

“In the case of the island of Niue, the firm essentially ran a tax haven from start to finish.”

He noted Key had been “curiously quiet about his country’s role in enabling the financial fraud Mecca that is the Cook Islands”.

Key dismissed this accusation as “confused” because the Cooks use the New Zealand dollar.

The Cook Islands “Wine Box” tax haven scandal was very familiar to all New Zealanders in the 1990s – it was a by-product of the fast and loose financial culture introduced to New Zealand by fourth Labour Government Finance Minister, Roger Douglas.

The Wine Box documents which came into the hands of some journalists and NZ First leader Winston Peters, bore much similarity to the 11.5 million documents leaked from Mossack Fonseca and include similar taxpayer rorts, just like New Zealand’s current policy of not taxing foreign entities registered here.

The Wine Box papers detailed extensive tax avoidance and evasion schemes run through Cook Islands offshore companies associated with a special purpose company, EPI, owned by the then New Zealand state bank, Bank of New Zealand, merchant bank Fay Richwhite & Co, whose principals Michael Fay and David Richwhite, were closely connected to both the Labour and National parties.

The Commission of Inquiry into Certain Matters relating to Taxation, better known as the Wine Box inquiry, after a tortuous three-year investigation, controversially concluded that no fraud was committed. Legal appeals to that ruling taken by Peters partially overturned the conclusion with the PrivyCouncil stating there was a prima facie case of fraud.

By then the whitewashing action had achieved its purpose.

In the aftermath of the Wine Box, the Cooks, which are constitutionally part of New Zealand, agreed that it would allow New Zealand oversight of its tax affairs.

Journalist Fran O’Sullivan, a key figure in the Wine Box affair, noted on Q&A yesterday, that a dump of Cook Islands documents in 2013 showed little had changed.

The whole concept of establishing the Cook Islands as a tax haven was overtly and covertly supported by the likes of Roger Douglas and his successor Ruth Richardson on the precept that the islands would become more self sufficient and less dependent on aid.

That philosophy – of trying to build businesses rather than alleviate poverty — essentially is still followed today, as evidenced by the recently revealed tawdry affair in Niue, whereby New Zealand company Scenic Hotels was in 2014 awarded the contract to run Matavai Resort, funded to the tune of $7.5 million by New Zealand aid.

It transpired Scenic’s founder, Earl Hagaman, donated $101,000 to the National Party. Foreign Minister Murray McCully denies any connection but in the words of Christine Keller’s famous phrase, “well, he would say that wouldn’t he.”

The Cook Island tax haven model was imitated by Niue, Samoa and Vanavatu among others.

Mike Field, a journalist who knows more about dark activities in the Pacific islands than anyone, has, since the Panama Papers scandal has erupted, written two detailed articles outlining their nefarious operations in different Pacific islands.

Back in the 1990s, he exposed Mossack Fonseca’s Pacific activities, and he will be surely one of the only journalists to get a full interview with Mossack’s German principal, Jürgen Mossack, , who he likened to the Waffen SS staffer Jürgen father was.

For the Nikkei Asian Review, he noted that by the time Mossack turned his attention to the South Pacific, the Cook Islands, Vanuatu and Nauru were already deeply into the offshore financial sector business.

Nauru had 450 “banks” registered to a single government mailbox through which $70 billion of Russian mafia money passed in 1998, according to statements by the Russian central bank.

Mossack bypassed those islands after reaching a 20-year exclusive deal in 1996 to handle offshore incorporations for Niue, a dependency of New Zealand with a population of under just over 1,100.

Niue received $100 a year from each of the 6,000 international business companies set up by Mossack Fonseca over eight years. Local lawyer Peleni Talagi, daughter of the current prime minister, became the firm’s agent.

Niue registration offered “total secrecy and anonymity,” with no need to file annual returns, the firm’s web ads bragged. . There were no requirements to disclose beneficial owners, nor any need to to file annual returns. “Complete business privacy and confidentiality” was assured. Opaqueness was enhanced by allowing company creation in Chinese characters as well as Cyrillic or Russian script.

Such was its success that by the late 1990s Niue’s activities were attracting the attention of the Group of Eight, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development and the U.S. State Department’s 1999 International Narcotics Control Strategy Report which said: “Niue’s thriving offshore financial sector has been linked with the laundering of criminal proceeds from Russia and South America.”

Credit card activities were blocked threatening its tiny tourism industry. The Reserve Bank of New Zealand saw Niue, because it used the New Zealand dollar, as a threat to the currency.

New Zealand’s Labour Government in 2000 tried to close down Niue’s haven business which led to Jürgen Mossack’s visit, but Foreign Minister Phil Goff refused to meet him.

Jürgen Mossack denied to Field his Niue operation was laundering “criminal receipts” as there was no banking system there. He told Field his business involved people “trying to avoid paying taxes in their home countries” – crucially “avoidance”, “unlike evasion”, is within the law, he said.

The OECD was using money laundering as a pretence to go after tax, he claimed. Niue had been offering “unfair tax competition” to the OECD.

He suggested the rich should protect their tax base in their own countries, not by beating up Niue.

“If OECD countries want to be serious about unfair tax competition they are going to have to close down their own operations first.”

According to data compiled from Mossack Fonseca’s files by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, the firm’s use of Niue as a tax haven peaked in 1999 with over 6000 accounts, and Mossack shut down its operations in 2004, though the island still ranks as the fifth most-used tax haven by the firm since 1977, according to the ICIJ’s calculations.

Mossack relocated its regional operations to Samoa, taking advantage of local legislation on international financial operations that had been in place since 1987. Samoa ranked as the sixth most-used tax haven by Mossack Fonseca. Nine other trustee companies are licensed by the Samoan Government.

In response to the publication of the papers, the Samoan government said the sector complied with international standards and “made assurances that Samoa will redouble its efforts to ensure Samoa cannot and will not be used by money launderers and tax evaders.”

Field notes Samoa has been less than cooperative in the past. According to documents cited by the Australian Financial Review, a member of the ICIJ team, a 2007 letter from the chief executive of the Samoa International Finance Authority wrote to Mossack Fonseca saying, “As you are aware, we have been deliberately stalling the proposals from OECD countries to enter into Tax Information Exchange Agreements.”

Field, in his colourful Spinoff article cataloguing his career in the Pacific, reveals how Nauru, under corrupt former president Bernard Dowiyogo became even more of a Wild West for tax havens than Niue. Over 450 banks were registered to a single Nauru mailbox, which was a money laundering front, used, according to the Russian Central Bank, to launder over US$70 billion of Russian mafia money in 1999, with the actual money channelled through accounts in the Bank of New York.

Field’s sources revealed that around a third of the 450 “banks” were of Middle Eastern origin, including Al-Qaeda fronts. The same names turned up again a few years later, when Tonga instituted a flag of convenience shipping scheme.

In 2001, after the 9/11 attacks the dying Dowiyogo was pressured to close down the tax haven in return for treatment in the US.

Field comments on the hypocrisy of Pacific leaders, espousing Christianity, but who are happily complicit to establishing schemes of malfeasance, and sometimes blatant criminality that rip off nations which are invariably their main aid donors.

“They would justify it by saying places like Hong Kong and Delaware were doing it. There were no victims, they would say,” Field says

Mossack correctly stated in Field’s interview that money laundering via “states” like Nauru could only be done with the aid of the world’s big banks such as HSBC and Bank of America which have recently been convicted for money laundering. HSBC last year paid a fine of 40 million Swiss francs in return for shutting down an investigation into its laundering.

Field points out that vast amounts of Mexican drug money was laundered via US-based banks using shell New Zealand company fronts, mostly set up by father and son operation Geoffrey and Michael Taylor, who have registered a huge percentage of companies registered in New Zealand.

“Every operation of that scale needs the intervention of the big international banks,” Jurgen Mossack told Field. “When they see an unusual operation they must know it, and if they then continue the business it is because either they are not interested in the morals of the story, or they see it as good business to continue these operations.”

“If you have figures of that sort… then the international banks know what they are doing.”

Mossack claimed his firm was being picked on because it was from Panama and he may be right. “Why is somebody who is based in Panama any different, any worse, than somebody based in the United States or Europe? Panama is a country like any other, it is an on-shore country, it is not an island in the middle of nowhere.”

If Pacific leaders are hypocritical being Christian while running these operations, there are equally hard questions to be asked about New Zealand’s politicians, especially of Key.

He is simply wrong both to say that John Doe is confused about the Cooks, or that it is not New Zealand’s responsibility.

Constitutionally, New Zealand has a “special relationship” and the influence over Niue is even more powerful. We may not have constitutional influence over Samoa but the influence is undeniable. Neither Key, nor Helen Clark before him, were prepared to wield the aid card.

As Winston Peters said on The Nation today, given that Key was a “financial whizz” in his former role with Merrill Lynch, he can’t have been unaware of what the Cooks, Niue and co have been up to.

New Zealand’s own laws facilitating foreigners’ tax avoidance are also untenable.

It comes down to this – why are Key and his mates both here and abroad, not just content to tolerate, but are active in setting up these “legal” means to allow criminal tax evasion, avoidance and money laundering? The answer is this – they want to avoid paying their fair share of tax.

The ICIJ, that has been given access to the Mossack Fonseca files, plans to publish a “map” on the documents linking all the companies and the officers involved with them on Tuesday NZ time. We await with interest.

(Simon Louisson formerly worked for The Wall Street Journal, NZPA, Reuters, The Jerusalem Post and was most recently a political and media adviser to the Green Party)

23 comments on “Panama Papers whistleblower cites Pacific isles, NZ, for good reasons ”

  1. Paul Campbell 1

    “John Doe” the Panama Papers leaker has drawn attention to National’s changes to our trusts laws in 2010 as being responsible for us becoming a tax haven, as usual Key keeps trying to pin the blame on earlier changes by Labour but this focuses us back on what National has done and why.

    I think we’ve been sidetracked by Key’s connection to his lawyer, his foreign trust activities, the good old boys, smoked filled rooms, insider lobbying … National business as usual. We can also remember Key publicly championing NZ as a southern hemisphere centre for international finance ….

    What I think we’re not looking into is how and why did those 2010 changes happen – who lobbied Key? was it his ‘lawyer’ who runs Key’s ‘blind’ trust? who else? was it’s Key’s idea that these changes should happen? who else championed the changes? what connections do they have? who donated money to the Nats during that time?

  2. Gangnam Style 2

    No wonder Mr Angry (Hooton) is spinning wildly on Twitter, just saw this tweet from Bryce Edwards, “Nicky Hager, TVNZ, and RNZ will release NZ-related #panamapapers research tomorrow at 6am.” … Could be very interesting!

    • Paul 2.1

      Thought it was Tuesday…

    • Anne 2.2

      Love this tweet from you know who:

      Matthew Hooton ‏@MatthewHootonNZ
      I don’t take the word of an anonymous criminal. Hand over papers to tax authorities for proper investigation

      Well, isn’t that why the papers are being released? So that the tax authorities can look into the data for any possible illegal or criminal activity? Why, didn’t Key say he expected the IRD to investigate anything “unusual” about 24 hrs ago?

      Anyway Matty boy… a lot of people don’t take your word for anything much either.

      • save nz 2.2.1

        But the NZ tax authorities also have their nose in the trough!

        TVNZ reveals the New Zealand operation centres on an accountancy firm called Bentleys, run by Roger Thompson, a former Inland Revenue executive.

        Bentleys, in downtown Auckland, is the New Zealand agent for Mossack Fonseca.

        Bentleys charges NZ$4000 to set up trusts for wealthy foreigners who then use New Zealand’s limited disclosure rules to stay anonymous even to IRD. Bentleys charges another $2000 a year to send a one page form to IRD to confirm the trust clients don’t need to pay any tax under New Zealand law.

  3. Alan W 3

    you leap from fact to conjecture in your second to last paragraph, got any evidence to back that up?

    • lprent 3.1

      I think at this point the onus of proof is pretty much on our public servants like politicians to prove that they aren’t screwing other taxpayers.

      That is particularly the case for John Key bearing in mind that his “personal lawyer” was a shill for at least tax avoidance schemes here. It is pretty clear that John Key doesn’t want to disclose that kind of information. I’m afraid that is unacceptable bearing in mind what has been disclosed with other public servants world wide.

      There are far too many opportunities for public servants like John Key to feather their own nests and those of their friends by their decisions made when they don’t disclose their interests.

      • Henry Filth 3.1.1

        No, I think that here, as everywhere else, the burden of proof is on the accuser. That’s a principle, not ” . . . particularly the case for John Key”.

        Assertion is not argument, and accusation is not evidence.

        On the other hand, should the evidence be found, impeach the little b*gger.

        • Gristle 3.1.1.1

          HF there already is recognition that politicians need to have greater financial disclosure. This is the basis for the register in parliament. Further, the use blind trusts by PM’s shows they recognise the need to isolate their financial interests from their ability to influence outcomes favourable to their financial interests.

          The surprising thing with Key’s blind trust is that he can actually look into it and see the disposition of its assets.

          The question being asked now is does that disclosure level have to up a level to show tax records. For NZ tax records are private whereas this is not the case throughout the western world.

          As to your position on the burden of proof, I think many issues inside the tax regime have already shifted the burden of proof onto the taxpayer.

  4. Nick 4

    The Panama leaks get right to the core of how people like ShonKey make their millions. Hopefully enough NZers realise in time for the electionthat this guy has been scamming his whole life and is now scamming the whole country.

  5. AmaKiwi 5

    Little says he would shut down foreign trusts.

    Good work, Andrew. Clear and unequivocal. Excellent timing.

    Another excellent article by Simon Louisson. Thank you.

    • Whateva next? 5.1

      Seconded

    • NZJester 5.2

      I would say what about all the tax we will loose from the income of the ones running the trusts. But then I remembered they are running trusts to help others avoid tax and so very likely know how to hide their own income from tax. Looks like all we have to loose is our label as a tax haven.

      • Hanswurst 5.2.1

        “Lose”. Please, for the love of God, it’s “lose”, not “loose”. Sorry to single you out, but I’ve been seeing that particular misspelling so often that it’s really starting to set my teeth on edge.

        • Ed 5.2.1.1

          Would that we could “loose” some tax from all those legal tax avoidance schemes. Good on you for raising the spelling issue.

  6. seeker 6

    Was john key singled out by the Panama Papers hacker because he is now the chairman of the right wing International Democratic Union, as well as pm of New Zealand, so could have extra fish to fry?

  7. save nz 7

    Also of note is that One News last night made sure to say that trusts had been happening since the 1980’s i.e. Labour does it too!

    Nothing like having biased news here in little corrupt NZ!

    Also forget about tax avoidance being legal, it is pretty clear these lawyers and their clients have crossed the line into tax evasion and money laundering which is NOT legal.

    Even worse and scary is that politicians and lobbyists have bought themselves power to change legalisation so that they change the laws to steal tax payers money and resources and then use the weasel words “but it is legal” with laws they put in themselves to steal the money and assets and make corruption legal!

    http://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/may/07/10bn-dollar-question-marcos-millions-nick-davies

  8. Venezia 8

    Yes. The John Doe manifesto helps us join the dots. The links between rapidly growing global social inequality, the seeming inability of those with power to do anything to change it, the skimming off from the tax base of countries desperate for funds to develop their economies, the rise and rise of the fortunes of the 1% – all assisted by the financial power plays of foreign trusts and shell companies. John Key and his mates may keep saying it is all legal, but ethical and moral? Mossack Fonseca have been shown to be very dodgy. The vehicles they tout in the financial market place assist a variety of serious crime. Let us see what is uncovered in the weeks and months to come………

    https://panamapapers.icij.org/20160506-john-doe-statement.html

  9. Jack Ramaka 9

    The legal profession in NZ has been extremely dodgy since year dot=Fact.

  10. I don’t think the issue is having all a person’s finance in a trust. It’s the lack of disclosure isn’t it? I mean at the end of the day, it shouldn’t matter where you put your money and what benefits you’re getting from putting your money in a particular place as long as you are truthful and honest about it right?

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  • ROB MacCULLOCH:  Newshub and NZ Herald report misleading garbage about ACT’s van Veldon not follo...
    Rob MacCulloch writes –  In their rush to discredit the new government (which our MainStream Media regard as illegitimate and having no right to enact the democratic will of voters) the NZ Herald and Newshub are arguing ACT’s Deputy Leader Brooke van Veldon is not following Treasury advice ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • Top 10 for Wednesday, December 6
    Even many young people who smoke support smokefree policies, fitting in with previous research showing the large majority of people who smoke regret starting and most want to quit. Photo: Lynn GrievesonTL;DR: Here’s my pick of the top 10 news and analysis links elsewhere on the morning of Wednesday, December ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • Eleven years of work.
    Well it didn’t take six months, but the leaks have begun. Yes the good ship Coalition has inadvertently released a confidential cabinet paper into the public domain, discussing their axing of Fair Pay Agreements (FPAs).Oops.Just when you were admiring how smoothly things were going for the new government, they’ve had ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    4 days ago
  • Why we're missing out on sharply lower inflation
    A wave of new and higher fees, rates and charges will ripple out over the economy in the next 18 months as mayors, councillors, heads of department and price-setters for utilities such as gas, electricity, water and parking ramp up charges. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Just when most ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • How Did We Get Here?
    Hi,Kiwis — keep the evening of December 22nd free. I have a meetup planned, and will send out an invite over the next day or so. This sounds sort of crazy to write, but today will be Tony Stamp’s final Totally Normal column of 2023. Somehow we’ve made it to ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    4 days ago
  • At a glance – Has the greenhouse effect been falsified?
    On February 14, 2023 we announced our Rebuttal Update Project. This included an ask for feedback about the added "At a glance" section in the updated basic rebuttal versions. This weekly blog post series highlights this new section of one of the updated basic rebuttal versions and serves as a ...
    5 days ago
  • New Zealaders  have  high expectations of  new  government:  now let’s see if it can deliver?
    The electorate has high expectations of the  new  government.  The question is: can  it  deliver?    Some  might  say  the  signs are not  promising. Protestors   are  already marching in the streets. The  new  Prime Minister has had  little experience of managing  very diverse politicians  in coalition. The economy he  ...
    Point of OrderBy tutere44
    5 days ago
  • You won't believe some of the numbers you have to pull when you're a Finance Minister
    Nicola of Marsden:Yo, normies! We will fix your cost of living worries by giving you a tax cut of 150 dollars. 150! Cash money! Vote National.Various people who can read and count:Actually that's 150 over a fortnight. Not a week, which is how you usually express these things.And actually, it looks ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    5 days ago
  • Pushback
    When this government came to power, it did so on an explicitly white supremacist platform. Undermining the Waitangi Tribunal, removing Māori representation in local government, over-riding the courts which had tried to make their foreshore and seabed legislation work, eradicating te reo from public life, and ultimately trying to repudiate ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    5 days ago
  • Defence ministerial meeting meant Collins missed the Maori Party’s mischief-making capers in Parli...
    Buzz from the Beehive Maybe this is not the best time for our Minister of Defence to have gone overseas. Not when the Maori Party is inviting (or should that be inciting?) its followers to join a revolution in a post which promoted its protest plans with a picture of ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    5 days ago
  • Threats of war have been followed by an invitation to join the revolution – now let’s see how th...
     A Maori Party post on Instagram invited party followers to ….  Tangata Whenua, Tangata Tiriti, Join the REVOLUTION! & make a stand!  Nationwide Action Day, All details in tiles swipe to see locations.  • This is our 1st hit out and tomorrow Tuesday the 5th is the opening ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • Top 10 for Tuesday, December 4
    The RBNZ governor is citing high net migration and profit-led inflation as factors in the bank’s hawkish stance. Photo: Lynn GrievesonTL;DR: Here’s my pick of the top 10 news and analysis links elsewhere on the morning of Tuesday, December 5, including:Reserve Bank Governor Adrian Orr says high net migration and ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • Nicola Willis' 'show me the money' moment
    Willis has accused labour of “economic vandalism’, while Robertson described her comments as a “desperate diversion from somebody who can't make their tax package add up”. There will now be an intense focus on December 20 to see whether her hyperbole is backed up by true surprises. Photo montage: Lynn ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • CRL costs money but also provides huge benefits
    The City Rail Link has been in the headlines a bit recently so I thought I’d look at some of them. First up, yesterday the NZ Herald ran this piece about the ongoing costs of the CRL. Auckland ratepayers will be saddled with an estimated bill of $220 million each ...
    5 days ago
  • And I don't want the world to see us.
    Is this the most shambolic government in the history of New Zealand? Given that parliament hasn’t even opened they’ve managed quite a list of achievements to date.The Smokefree debacle trading lives for tax cuts, the Trumpian claims of bribery in the Media, an International award for indifference, and today the ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    5 days ago
  • Cooking the books
    Finance Minister Nicola Willis late yesterday stopped only slightly short of accusing her predecessor Grant Robertson of cooking the books. She complained that the Half Yearly Economic and Fiscal Update (HYEFU), due to be made public on December 20, would show “fiscal cliffs” that would amount to “billions of ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    5 days ago
  • Most people don’t realize how much progress we’ve made on climate change
    This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections The year was 2015. ‘Uptown Funk’ with Bruno Mars was at the top of the music charts. Jurassic World was the most popular new movie in theaters. And decades of futility in international climate negotiations was about to come to an end in ...
    6 days ago
  • Of Parliamentary Oaths and Clive Boonham
    As a heads-up, I am not one of those people who stay awake at night thinking about weird Culture War nonsense. At least so far as the current Maori/Constitutional arrangements go. In fact, I actually consider it the least important issue facing the day to day lives of New ...
    6 days ago
  • Bearing True Allegiance?
    Strong Words: “We do not consent, we do not surrender, we do not cede, we do not submit; we, the indigenous, are rising. We do not buy into the colonial fictions this House is built upon. Te Pāti Māori pledges allegiance to our mokopuna, our whenua, and Te Tiriti o ...
    6 days ago
  • You cannot be serious
    Some days it feels like the only thing to say is: Seriously? No, really. Seriously?OneSomeone has used their health department access to share data about vaccinations and patients, and inform the world that New Zealanders have been dying in their hundreds of thousands from the evil vaccine. This of course is pure ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    6 days ago
  • A promise kept: govt pulls the plug on Lake Onslow scheme – but this saving of $16bn is denounced...
    Buzz from the Beehive After $21.8 million was spent on investigations, the plug has been pulled on the Lake Onslow pumped-hydro electricity scheme, The scheme –  that technically could have solved New Zealand’s looming energy shortage, according to its champions – was a key part of the defeated Labour government’s ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    6 days ago
  • CHRIS TROTTER: The Maori Party and Oath of Allegiance
    If those elected to the Māori Seats refuse to take them, then what possible reason could the country have for retaining them?   Chris Trotter writes – Christmas is fast approaching, which, as it does every year, means gearing up for an abstruse general knowledge question. “Who was ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    6 days ago
  • BRIAN EASTON:  Forward to 2017
    The coalition party agreements are mainly about returning to 2017 when National lost power. They show commonalities but also some serious divergencies. Brian Easton writes The two coalition agreements – one National and ACT, the other National and New Zealand First – are more than policy documents. ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    6 days ago
  • Climate Change: Fossils
    When the new government promised to allow new offshore oil and gas exploration, they were warned that there would be international criticism and reputational damage. Naturally, they arrogantly denied any possibility that that would happen. And then they finally turned up at COP, to criticism from Palau, and a "fossil ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    6 days ago
  • GEOFFREY MILLER:  NZ’s foreign policy resets on AUKUS, Gaza and Ukraine
    Geoffrey Miller writes – New Zealand’s international relations are under new management. And Winston Peters, the new foreign minister, is already setting a change agenda. As expected, this includes a more pro-US positioning when it comes to the Pacific – where Peters will be picking up where he ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    6 days ago
  • Gordon Campbell on the government’s smokefree laws debacle
    The most charitable explanation for National’s behaviour over the smokefree legislation is that they have dutifully fulfilled the wishes of the Big Tobacco lobby and then cast around – incompetently, as it turns out – for excuses that might sell this health policy U-turn to the public. The less charitable ...
    6 days ago
  • Top 10 links at 10 am for Monday, December 4
    As Deb Te Kawa writes in an op-ed, the new Government seems to have immediately bought itself fights with just about everyone. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Here’s my pick of the top 10 news and analysis links elsewhere as of 10 am on Monday December 4, including:Palau’s President ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    6 days ago
  • Be Honest.
    Let’s begin today by thinking about job interviews.During my career in Software Development I must have interviewed hundreds of people, hired at least a hundred, but few stick in the memory.I remember one guy who was so laid back he was practically horizontal, leaning back in his chair until his ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    6 days ago
  • Geoffrey Miller: New Zealand’s foreign policy resets on AUKUS, Gaza and Ukraine
    New Zealand’s international relations are under new management. And Winston Peters, the new foreign minister, is already setting a change agenda. As expected, this includes a more pro-US positioning when it comes to the Pacific – where Peters will be picking up where he left off. Peters sought to align ...
    Democracy ProjectBy Geoffrey Miller
    6 days ago
  • Auckland rail tunnel the world’s most expensive
    Auckland’s city rail link is the most expensive rail project in the world per km, and the CRL boss has described the cost of infrastructure construction in Aotearoa as a crisis. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The 3.5 km City Rail Link (CRL) tunnel under Auckland’s CBD has cost ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    6 days ago
  • First big test coming
    The first big test of the new Government’s approach to Treaty matters is likely to be seen in the return of the Resource Management Act. RMA Minister Chris Bishop has confirmed that he intends to introduce legislation to repeal Labour’s recently passed Natural and Built Environments Act and its ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    6 days ago
  • The Song of Saqua: Volume III
    Time to revisit something I haven’t covered in a while: the D&D campaign, with Saqua the aquatic half-vampire. Last seen in July: https://phuulishfellow.wordpress.com/2023/07/27/the-song-of-saqua-volume-ii/ The delay is understandable, once one realises that the interim saw our DM come down with a life-threatening medical situation. They have since survived to make ...
    6 days ago
  • Chris Bishop: Smokin’
    Yes. Correct. It was an election result. And now we are the elected government. ...
    My ThinksBy boonman
    7 days ago
  • 2023 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #48
    A chronological listing of news and opinion articles posted on the Skeptical Science  Facebook Page during the past week: Sun, Nov 26, 2023 thru Dec 2, 2023. Story of the Week CO2 readings from Mauna Loa show failure to combat climate change Daily atmospheric carbon dioxide data from Hawaiian volcano more ...
    1 week ago
  • Affirmative Action.
    Affirmative Action was a key theme at this election, although I don’t recall anyone using those particular words during the campaign.They’re positive words, and the way the topic was talked about was anything but. It certainly wasn’t a campaign of saying that Affirmative Action was a good thing, but that, ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    1 week ago
  • 100 days of something
    It was at the end of the Foxton straights, at the end of 1978, at 100km/h, that someone tried to grab me from behind on my Yamaha.They seemed to be yanking my backpack. My first thought was outrage. My second was: but how? Where have they come from? And my ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    1 week ago
  • Look who’s stepped up to champion Winston
    There’s no news to be gleaned from the government’s official website today  – it contains nothing more than the message about the site being under maintenance. The time this maintenance job is taking and the costs being incurred have us musing on the government’s commitment to an assault on inflation. ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    1 week ago
  • What's The Story?
    Don’t you sometimes wish they’d just tell the truth? No matter how abhorrent or ugly, just straight up tell us the truth?C’mon guys, what you’re doing is bad enough anyway, pretending you’re not is only adding insult to injury.Instead of all this bollocks about the Smokefree changes being to do ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    1 week ago
  • The longest of weeks
    Hello! Here comes the Saturday edition of More Than A Feilding, catching you up on the past week’s editions.Friday Under New Management Week in review, quiz style1. Which of these best describes Aotearoa?a. Progressive nation, proud of its egalitarian spirit and belief in a fair go b. Best little country on the planet c. ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    1 week ago
  • Suggested sessions of EGU24 to submit abstracts to
    Like earlier this year, members from our team will be involved with next year's General Assembly of the European Geosciences Union (EGU). The conference will take place on premise in Vienna as well as online from April 14 to 19, 2024. The session catalog has been available since November 1 ...
    1 week ago
  • Under New Management
    1. Which of these best describes Aotearoa?a. Progressive nation, proud of its egalitarian spirit and belief in a fair go b. Best little country on the planet c. Under New Management 2. Which of these best describes the 100 days of action announced this week by the new government?a. Petulantb. Simplistic and wrongheaded c. ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    1 week ago

  • Ministers visit Hawke’s Bay to grasp recovery needs
    Prime Minister Christopher Luxon joined Cyclone Recovery Minister Mark Mitchell and Transport and Local Government Minister Simeon Brown, to meet leaders of cyclone and flood-affected regions in the Hawke’s Bay. The visit reinforced the coalition Government’s commitment to support the region and better understand its ongoing requirements, Mr Mitchell says.  ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • New Zealand condemns malicious cyber activity
    New Zealand has joined the UK and other partners in condemning malicious cyber activity conducted by the Russian Government, Minister Responsible for the Government Communications Security Bureau Judith Collins says. The statement follows the UK’s attribution today of malicious cyber activity impacting its domestic democratic institutions and processes, as well ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • Disestablishment of Te Pūkenga begins
    The Government has begun the process of disestablishing Te Pūkenga as part of its 100-day plan, Minister for Tertiary Education and Skills Penny Simmonds says.  “I have started putting that plan into action and have met with the chair and chief Executive of Te Pūkenga to advise them of my ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Climate Change Minister to attend COP28 in Dubai
    Climate Change Minister Simon Watts will be leaving for Dubai today to attend COP28, the 28th annual UN climate summit, this week. Simon Watts says he will push for accelerated action towards the goals of the Paris Agreement, deliver New Zealand’s national statement and connect with partner countries, private sector leaders ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • New Zealand to host 2024 Pacific defence meeting
    Defence Minister Judith Collins yesterday announced New Zealand will host next year’s South Pacific Defence Ministers’ Meeting (SPDMM). “Having just returned from this year’s meeting in Nouméa, I witnessed first-hand the value of meeting with my Pacific counterparts to discuss regional security and defence matters. I welcome the opportunity to ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Study shows need to remove distractions in class
    The Government is committed to lifting school achievement in the basics and that starts with removing distractions so young people can focus on their learning, Education Minister Erica Stanford says.   The 2022 PISA results released this week found that Kiwi kids ranked 5th in the world for being distracted ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Minister sets expectations of Commissioner
    Today I met with Police Commissioner Andrew Coster to set out my expectations, which he has agreed to, says Police Minister Mark Mitchell. Under section 16(1) of the Policing Act 2008, the Minister can expect the Police Commissioner to deliver on the Government’s direction and priorities, as now outlined in ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • New Zealand needs a strong and stable ETS
    New Zealand needs a strong and stable Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) that is well placed for the future, after emission units failed to sell for the fourth and final auction of the year, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says.  At today’s auction, 15 million New Zealand units (NZUs) – each ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • PISA results show urgent need to teach the basics
    With 2022 PISA results showing a decline in achievement, Education Minister Erica Stanford is confident that the Coalition Government’s 100-day plan for education will improve outcomes for Kiwi kids.  The 2022 PISA results show a significant decline in the performance of 15-year-old students in maths compared to 2018 and confirms ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Collins leaves for Pacific defence meeting
    Defence Minister Judith Collins today departed for New Caledonia to attend the 8th annual South Pacific Defence Ministers’ meeting (SPDMM). “This meeting is an excellent opportunity to meet face-to-face with my Pacific counterparts to discuss regional security matters and to demonstrate our ongoing commitment to the Pacific,” Judith Collins says. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Working for Families gets cost of living boost
    Putting more money in the pockets of hard-working families is a priority of this Coalition Government, starting with an increase to Working for Families, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon says. “We are starting our 100-day plan with a laser focus on bringing down the cost of living, because that is what ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Post-Cabinet press conference
    Most weeks, following Cabinet, the Prime Minister holds a press conference for members of the Parliamentary Press Gallery. This page contains the transcripts from those press conferences, which are supplied by Hansard to the Office of the Prime Minister. It is important to note that the transcripts have not been edited ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Lake Onslow pumped hydro scheme scrapped
    The Government has axed the $16 billion Lake Onslow pumped hydro scheme championed by the previous government, Energy Minister Simeon Brown says. “This hugely wasteful project was pouring money down the drain at a time when we need to be reining in spending and focussing on rebuilding the economy and ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • NZ welcomes further pause in fighting in Gaza
    New Zealand welcomes the further one-day extension of the pause in fighting, which will allow the delivery of more urgently-needed humanitarian aid into Gaza and the release of more hostages, Foreign Minister Winston Peters said. “The human cost of the conflict is horrific, and New Zealand wants to see the violence ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Condolences on passing of Henry Kissinger
    Foreign Minister Winston Peters today expressed on behalf of the New Zealand Government his condolences to the family of former US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, who has passed away at the age of 100 at his home in Connecticut. “While opinions on his legacy are varied, Secretary Kissinger was ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Backing our kids to learn the basics
    Every child deserves a world-leading education, and the Coalition Government is making that a priority as part of its 100-day plan. Education Minister Erica Stanford says that will start with banning cellphone use at school and ensuring all primary students spend one hour on reading, writing, and maths each day. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • US Business Summit Speech – Regional stability through trade
    I would like to begin by echoing the Prime Minister’s thanks to the organisers of this Summit, Fran O’Sullivan and the Auckland Business Chamber.  I want to also acknowledge the many leading exporters, sector representatives, diplomats, and other leaders we have joining us in the room. In particular, I would like ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Keynote Address to the United States Business Summit, Auckland
    Good morning. Thank you, Rosemary, for your warm introduction, and to Fran and Simon for this opportunity to make some brief comments about New Zealand’s relationship with the United States.  This is also a chance to acknowledge my colleague, Minister for Trade Todd McClay, Ambassador Tom Udall, Secretary of Foreign ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • India New Zealand Business Council Speech, India as a Strategic Priority
    Good morning, tēnā koutou and namaskar. Many thanks, Michael, for your warm welcome. I would like to acknowledge the work of the India New Zealand Business Council in facilitating today’s event and for the Council’s broader work in supporting a coordinated approach for lifting New Zealand-India relations. I want to also ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 weeks ago
  • Coalition Government unveils 100-day plan
    Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has laid out the Coalition Government’s plan for its first 100 days from today. “The last few years have been incredibly tough for so many New Zealanders. People have put their trust in National, ACT and NZ First to steer them towards a better, more prosperous ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 weeks ago
  • New Zealand welcomes European Parliament vote on the NZ-EU Free Trade Agreement
    A significant milestone in ratifying the NZ-EU Free Trade Agreement (FTA) was reached last night, with 524 of the 705 member European Parliament voting in favour to approve the agreement. “I’m delighted to hear of the successful vote to approve the NZ-EU FTA in the European Parliament overnight. This is ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 weeks ago

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